Pichai' extends Google investment, accelerates negotiations to push Thailand to become the data center hub of the ASEAN region. Mr. Pichai Naripthaphan, Minister of Commerce, revealed after attending the Business Forum of the 3rd ACD Summit (3rd Asia Cooperation Dialogue Summit) in Doha, Qatar, from October 1-3, 2024 that after Ms. Paethongtarn Shinawatra, Prime Minister, assigned the Ministry of Commerce to carry out food security for the Middle Eastern countries, the Prime Minister also assigned him to carry out data security. He will propose that Thailand be the location of the Data Center for various countries, using the advantage that Thailand is friendly to all countries. Therefore, the data stored in the Data Center in Thailand will be safe and can also continuously develop AI. Therefore, he took the opportunity to talk and discuss with ministers and representatives of various countries, including publicizing the potential of Thailand's digital economy and AI technology, which leading companies from various countries around the world, such as Amazon, Microsoft, and most recently Google, have decided to invest in building data storage in Thailand because of Thailand's strengths, such as its strategic location as the center of the region, its security, low risk from natural disasters, high-quality infrastructure, a large number of people have access to the internet and understand the technology and regulations that support the digital economy. Therefore, it is a good opportunity to develop the potential and expand the growth of Thai digital and AI businesses. Mr. Pichai also said that he took the opportunity to invite the countries he met, such as Oman and the UAE, to build data storage and data centers in Thailand. Thailand has advantages in terms of security and regulations that are ahead of the curve in terms of international standards, according to the latest report from the GSMA. In addition, Thailand also has strengths in terms of infrastructure, both in terms of electricity security, which is an im portant factor in driving data centers, and in terms of digital infrastructure, where Thailand has high-standard laws such as the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) and the Cyber ??Security Act. He noted that the ACD member countries that he discussed also showed positive attitudes and praised Thailand for its rapid development in the digital economy. Therefore, he will push for Thailand to become a digital data center for the ASEAN region and will continue to push for this issue at the ASEAN Summit, which will be held in Vientiane next week. According to information from the BOI, there are currently 46 data center and cloud service projects requesting investment promotion from the BOI in Thailand, with an investment value of up to 167,989 million baht, most of which are located in Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Chonburi, and Rayong, which will help drive the country's digital economy forward. Source: Thai News Agency
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